“A Sea of Depolarizations”
Report from 17th COSBID Meeting in Elsinore, Denmark
Sixty-six delegates from 3 North American and 8 European countries as well as Japan convened for the 17th COSBID meeting, held September 9-11, 2015 in Elsinore, Denmark. The scientific meeting as well as social events took place at the beautifully situated Konventum centre, nestled among forests on the northern seas of Ore Sound.
The meeting started with an evening talk by Maiken Nedergaard, of Rochester, NY and Copenhagen, on the glymphatic system. Her message that the brain needs to be flushed to clean out waste provided inspiration for the following light fare and wine reception.
The following day featured 19 talks focused mainly on basic science studies. Topics covered included traumatic brain injury, hypoxia and ischemia, and optical imaging. A key note lecture by Erland Nagelhus of Oslo on “Dynamics of Ionic Shifts in Cortical Spreading Depression” concluded the scientific programme. The evening COS-BAR and dinner provided an excellent frame for dynamic discussions and networking.
The final day included 13 clinical talks, many with a focus on the treatment perspective which still comprises a major challenge. The meeting concluded with an invited lecture by Hanne Krarup Christensen of Copenhagen on “GCP -how to plan and manage an international multicenter trial”. During the day, merry celebrations marked the 50th birthday of professor Jens Dreier of Berlin, Germany.
As a farewell greeting, a slightly adapted message was conveyed from a late prince of Denmark, who allegedly resided at the nearby Kronborg Castle:
“To treat, or not to treat, that is the question:
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Depressions,
Or to take Arms against a sea of Depolarizations,
And by opposing end them: to die, to apoptose
No more; and by a cure, to say we end
The Headache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Brain is heir to?”
